Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.

Urban agglomerations serve as crucial spatial carriers of economic development, and their spatial structure profoundly influences regional economic resilience. This study draws on Martin's conceptualization of economic resilience and, considering the administrative hierarchy and development sta...

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Main Authors: Wei Liang, Deqi Wang, Luqin Gao, Chunyan Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314538
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author Wei Liang
Deqi Wang
Luqin Gao
Chunyan Li
author_facet Wei Liang
Deqi Wang
Luqin Gao
Chunyan Li
author_sort Wei Liang
collection DOAJ
description Urban agglomerations serve as crucial spatial carriers of economic development, and their spatial structure profoundly influences regional economic resilience. This study draws on Martin's conceptualization of economic resilience and, considering the administrative hierarchy and development stage of China's urban system, examines the impact of the layered spatial structure of urban agglomerations on regional economic resilience. Based on data from 17 Chinese urban agglomerations from 2005 to 2019, this research employs a one-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model to empirically analyze the effects of three mechanisms - polycentricity within urban agglomerations, inter-city development disparities, and inter-city industrial gradients - on regional economic resilience. The findings reveal that both the polycentric distribution of population and economy and the coupling of dual centers significantly positively affect the economic resilience of urban agglomerations. The potential development energy difference between core and peripheral cities can be transformed into developmental momentum for peripheral cities, thereby generating positive spatial externalities that play a significant and positive role in enhancing economic resilience. As the ratio of secondary to tertiary industry employees in peripheral and core cities nears 1, urban agglomerations' economic resilience strengthens, underscoring the importance of a balanced industrial gradient and regional collaboration in mitigating economic shocks. This study also considers the heterogeneity of whether the urban agglomerations are coastal and whether they contain a national-level central city. The research finds that for inland urban agglomerations and those with existing national-level central cities, developing a polycentric spatial structure can effectively enhance the region's economic resilience in responding to various shocks. Furthermore, aside from a few more developed coastal urban agglomerations, other inland urban agglomerations should continue to focus on spatial agglomeration, fostering core cities to strengthen economic competitiveness. Finally, given the varying industrialization stages and structures within urban agglomerations, appropriately adjusting the industrial gradient is essential.
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spelling doaj-art-9c5a51c81bcb4cef84011045ff4112bb2025-08-20T03:08:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01203e031453810.1371/journal.pone.0314538Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.Wei LiangDeqi WangLuqin GaoChunyan LiUrban agglomerations serve as crucial spatial carriers of economic development, and their spatial structure profoundly influences regional economic resilience. This study draws on Martin's conceptualization of economic resilience and, considering the administrative hierarchy and development stage of China's urban system, examines the impact of the layered spatial structure of urban agglomerations on regional economic resilience. Based on data from 17 Chinese urban agglomerations from 2005 to 2019, this research employs a one-step system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model to empirically analyze the effects of three mechanisms - polycentricity within urban agglomerations, inter-city development disparities, and inter-city industrial gradients - on regional economic resilience. The findings reveal that both the polycentric distribution of population and economy and the coupling of dual centers significantly positively affect the economic resilience of urban agglomerations. The potential development energy difference between core and peripheral cities can be transformed into developmental momentum for peripheral cities, thereby generating positive spatial externalities that play a significant and positive role in enhancing economic resilience. As the ratio of secondary to tertiary industry employees in peripheral and core cities nears 1, urban agglomerations' economic resilience strengthens, underscoring the importance of a balanced industrial gradient and regional collaboration in mitigating economic shocks. This study also considers the heterogeneity of whether the urban agglomerations are coastal and whether they contain a national-level central city. The research finds that for inland urban agglomerations and those with existing national-level central cities, developing a polycentric spatial structure can effectively enhance the region's economic resilience in responding to various shocks. Furthermore, aside from a few more developed coastal urban agglomerations, other inland urban agglomerations should continue to focus on spatial agglomeration, fostering core cities to strengthen economic competitiveness. Finally, given the varying industrialization stages and structures within urban agglomerations, appropriately adjusting the industrial gradient is essential.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314538
spellingShingle Wei Liang
Deqi Wang
Luqin Gao
Chunyan Li
Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
PLoS ONE
title Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
title_full Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
title_fullStr Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
title_full_unstemmed Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
title_short Study on the impact of China's urban agglomerations' tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience.
title_sort study on the impact of china s urban agglomerations tiered spatial structure on regional economic resilience
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0314538
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